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Meb -- What Kind Of Name Is That?

12/20/2022

6 Comments

 

​Well, if you really want to know, you have a choice: here’s this 500-word essay on the subject or you can just live with “it’s a nickname that stuck.” The essay? Sure, here you go…
First, don’t confuse me—romantic as it sounds—with Maeve, queen of the fairies in Irish legend, “she who intoxicates"; or with Shakespeare’s Mab, “the fairy’s midwife”.
I was named, by my diplomatic parents, after both grandmothers. But then they tested it out: Marie Elise Bodensiek—yikes, way too long for such a tiny baby! So I immediately became my initials: M-E-B, Meb—and when I was especially adorable, little Mebbie.
When I was of disciplinary age, they’d pull out the Marie Elise (emphasis on the last syllable) and I’d strive to be their little Mebbie again.
We moved around a fair amount when I was young—13 times before the end of high school—no, not military, just a dissatisfied journalist… and at each new school I had to introduce myself and explain The Name.
In second grade, the other kids, cruel beings, chanted “Meb Web, Bodensiek Hide-N-Seek” which prompted my intro in third grade—Marie. But that felt too normal, so when we moved again, I went back to Meb—until our ninth grade move, when I was officially Marie, but Meb to my small group of dissident friends.
My mother got me started using Boden, not Bodensiek. Her given name was Enid, another handle that required spelling and pronouncing. Enid Boden was just easier and it was for me too. In German, “boden” is the ground or soil, the bottom or the base. And that suits me—who can’t use a good foundation?
In my twenties, I was a performer and a writer, and Meb Boden, except for the stumbly double b’s in the middle, made a decent pen and stage name, so Meb Boden I became—at least as a byline and in programs.
In my thirties, I dutifully took my first husband’s last name, though Meb Moase didn’t have much of a ring to it, nor did it make quick sense of the “B” in Meb. When we divorced, I was offered my choice of names, so I made it official: Meb Boden is now and forever my legal name.
In my forties, when I married a wonderful man with an unpronounceable Lithuanian last name, I passed on taking another long, Must-Spell-Every-Time name and stuck to my now-legal, self-imposed moniker.
You might think I’d learn from past experience, but sadly no: I named our current business “Meb’s Kitchenwares”, which continues the legacy of spelling and explanations.
In daily life, I answer to anything that resembles Meb: most often Meg or Ned, and enjoy the affectionate pet names that friends and family give me: Meblonski, Mebster, Maybe Baby or Mayberry.
These days, with less time to spend talking about frivolous subjects, I’m grateful to Tom (who never has to spell his first name) Vaiciulis for the always interesting marriage and the short story—a nickname that stuck.
6 Comments
John W Girard
12/31/2022 10:27:32 am

If I'm not mistaken, I think I'm responsible for Meblonski. 😎

Reply
Meb link
12/31/2022 10:50:01 am

Yes, Indeed you are!!

Reply
DotD
12/31/2022 01:34:08 pm

Fun story!

Reply
Carol Hwang
12/31/2022 04:25:53 pm

I feel your pain regarding last names. When giving my name to someone to look-up or write down I’ve learned to spell it before I pronounce it. Otherwise they are most likely to put the “W” before the “H”. I also learned that Huang is a better Romanization when, in HS, a teacher calling role pronounced a classmate’s name spelled Huang correctly with a short “A” but mine with a long “A” 😂

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Susan Wakefield
12/31/2022 06:21:15 pm

Having both a very common first and last name can be a bit problematical. One day my dentist was looking at a dental charts\ and commented, “Hmm, these aren’t your teeth”. He had another patient with the same two names. And when my partner and I applied for a mortgage, I had to affirm that no, I was not that person, and no, I was not that person … I think there were at least 8 others with the same name, who were in financial trouble.
So, when I married, I took my husband’s last name!

Reply
Carol Mleczko
12/31/2022 06:55:38 pm

Loved your story beautifully written. It brightened an otherwise dreary New Years Eve.

Now prior to marrying David - my last name was Ryan. I never had to spell that for people.

Happy Healthy New Year to you!

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  • Home
  • Our Story
    • Beginnings
    • Introductions
  • Etsy
    • NEW THIS TIME!
    • New LAST Time
    • BOARDS--Every Day Use
    • BOARDS -- Presentation
    • BOARDS -- Serving
    • Bowls, Rests, Cellars
    • Helpful Tools
    • Knives and Spreaders
    • Tongs and Serving Sets
    • Trivets
    • UTENSILS -- Serving
    • UTENSILS -- Eating
  • Shows/Retailers
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  • Contact Us